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Bank of America and VISA USA have signed a six-year partnership agreement that runs through 2011. Bank of America is currently the largest issuer of VISA-branded payment cards. The agreement will be retroactive to January 1st, 2006. BofA has had a 30-year card issuance relationship with VISA. BofA has about 116 million cardholders and 90 million credit card accounts. Debit card purchase volume topped a record $42 billion in the second quarter, an increase of 22% from the second quarter of last year. For complete details on Bank of America’s 2Q/06 performance, visit CardData ([www.carddata.com][1]). (CF Library 7/19/06)

Ingenico has received “Class B” certification on the “i7780,” “i5100” and “3010” PIN Pad from Chase Paymentech Solutions. The “7780” is a short-range portable transaction terminal for credit, PIN debit, stored value and EBT payment. The “i5100” is an IP-enabled countertop transaction terminal capable of operating in either dial or IP communication modes. The certified application was custom developed for Chase Paymentech by Ingenico and includes a host of features to allow payment benefits for a wide range of industries including retail, restaurant, convenience stores and more.

Credit card outstandings declined in August, dropping by GBP 311 million after hitting a record level in July of GBP 55.7 billion. Overall, the increase in *consumer credit of GBP 800 billion* was lower than in July. According to the The Bank of England, *net **other loans and advances *rose by GBP 1.1 billion. The annual growth rate of consumer credit continued to fall, to 6.6% in August, and the three month annualized growth rate fell by 90 basis points to 5.1%.

Experian has expanded its Canadian operations by acquiring Quebec-based Northern Credit Bureaus. This extends the number of countries in which Experian operates consumer credit bureaus to 13.
Consumer borrowing levels in Canada have increased substantially in recent years. Experian says with total consumer debt now exceeding total
personal disposable income, financial institutions, credit grantors and
retailers need better alternatives for data and tools to manage their
businesses.

World Travel Awards has named VISA the “World’s Leading
Credit Card” for the ninth year. The prize was awarded based on a worldwide online poll of travel agencies and frontline travel agents.
The online voting enabled over 167,000 travel agents and professionals in over 200 countries worldwide the opportunity to let the world know who they think are the best in the travel industry. The winner was chosen from the following payment cards — American Express, Diner’s Club, JCB, MasterCard and VISA. Established in 1993, the World Travel Awards held its 13th annual “World Travel Awards Ceremony” on Wednesday, September 20th, at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort and Spa, Providenciales.

New research shows that online spending as opposed to high street shopping may be the best way to keep a closer grip on your purse strings. According to VISA UK’s research 72% of women admit that they are more in control of their spending when shopping on line than in the shops as they are less likely to fall prey to frivolous retail temptation. Men tend to shop online more than women (54.3% vs 42%), while those aged 55-64 shop online just as much as 16-24 year olds (53% for both groups).

Cashbox has been awarded sole supplier status of ATMs for all
750 sites of Kent-based FRG Buying Group Limited. Each ATM will be
deployed using the Company’s free “Placement Model,” whereby the
individual retailer replenishes the machine, eliminating the
need for third party cash-handling costs. FRG will also actively promote
Cashbox’s services. Cashbox is an independent ATM deployer with an estate of over 1,000 ATMs in locations around the U.K.

Chase Paymentech Solutions has named Sam Jawad as
President, Chase Paymentech, Canada.. Jawad recently served as CEO of First Data Loan Company. He also previously held several senior strategy and business development roles at Bank One International and Citi Cards, Canada. Chase Paymentech Solutions Canada is headquartered in Toronto.

Chevron has selected On Track Innovations to be the provider of its “EasyFuel” petroleum payment and automated fuel management system. EasyFuel provides oil companies with the ability to sign long term contracts with fleets, assuring the correct grade and amount of fuel is dispensed into an authenticated fuel tank and provides loyalty and contactless payment solution for both retail and commercial customers. Chevron will firstly implement the system in Cameroon and expects to commission the system in additional countries.

Ogone has recently entered into an exclusive partnership with Jeronimo, a member of the CCV International Group based in the Canton of Vaud. This company is market leader in electronic payment by bankcard terminals in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and the second largest supplier in Switzerland as a whole. This alliance will make Jeronimo the leading remote payment solution provider. Ogone
offers both manual and fully integrated solutions for handling
electronic payments in areas such as e-commerce, mail order,
telemarketing and hospitality in both business-to-consumer and
business-to-business environments.

A new report has found that a sharp rise in the deployment of prepaid products over the next 10 years will be key to supporting bank profitability. However, TowerGroup believes that European banks success will be elusive as long as the use of cash remains high – underscoring the need for a true debit-based alternative that does not include identity recognition as part of the electronic payment. TowerGroup estimates that by 2010, prepaid cards usage will be 75 billion euros, a 600% increase over 2005, with 375 million cards will be in circulation, a 1,000% increase over 2005.

Atlanta-based Global Payments Inc. reported that revenues for the quarter ended August 31st increased 16% to $260.3 million. Net income for the quarter jumped 41% to $44.2 million. GPN says the growth was driven by strong revenue and operating margin growth in its merchant services segment, with the domestic ISO channel remaining the fastest growing area for the Company. During the quarter GPN signed a deal with NYC-based AmeriMerchant, a provider of working capital to businesses against their future credit card sales and was recognized by Business 2.0 magazine as one of the “100 Fastest-Growing Technology Companies” in the USA. Recently, GPN agreed to purchase the portion of Discover’s merchant portfolio for which it currently provides VISA/MasterCard processing and will begin to sell Discover Network card acceptance during the first quarter of next year. GPN is also raising the low end of its annual fiscal 2007 revenue guidance to $1,057 million, and reaffirming the high end of this guidance of $1,084 million. This revenue guidance reflects an expected 16% to 19% growth versus $908 million in fiscal 2006. For complete details on Global Payments latest results, visit CardData ([www.carddata.com][1]). (CF Library 6/5/06; 6/15/06; 9/12/06)